The BBC has claimed its science fiction drama Doctor Who is now one of the world's biggest TV shows after a special 50th anniversary episode on Saturday was watched in 94 countries and simultaneously screened in 3D to more than half a million people in cinemas across Latin America, North America and Europe.

More than 10 million people watched the show in the UK, in which the last two doctors, Matt Smith and David Tennant, featured alongside a "mayfly" timelord played by John Hurt who existed for only the duration of the single show titled The Day of the Doctor.

The breadth of the international "simulcast" was a world record, according to Guinness World Records.

"For years the Doctor has been stopping everyone else from conquering the world," said the lead writer, Steven Moffat. "Now, just to show off, he's gone and done it himself."

Tim Davie, chief executive of BBC Worldwide, which sells the show to overseas territories, said: "We knew we were attempting something unprecedented in broadcast history, not only because Doctor Who is a drama, unlike a live feed event such as a World Cup football match or a royal wedding, but because we had to deliver the episode in advance to the four corners of the world so that it could be dubbed and subtitled into 15 different languages.

"If there was any doubt that Doctor Who is one of the world's biggest TV shows, this award should put that argument to rest – and how fitting for it to receive such an accolade in its 50th year."

First broadcast on BBC One on 23 November, 1963, Doctor Who is already in the Guinness World Records as the most successful sci-fi series. Over the weekend 8,000 fans of the programme – Whovians, many in costume – attended a convention to mark the anniversary at the Excel centre in east London.